QBO competition dares ASEAN start-ups to craft disaster recovery plans

MANILA, Philippines — Some 20 start-ups are developing innovative solutions related to disaster resilience and recovery as part of an ASEAN-wide project.

The start-ups are competing in the Startups to the Resque, an ASEAN-wide startup competition that challenges startups to develop the best innovation solution related to disaster resilience and recovery.

The 20 companies will showcase their products or services in an international pitching competition to be held during the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) annual Slingshot event on Oct. 20, at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The competition is organized by QBO Innovation Hub (QBO) – the Philippines’ first public-private initiative for startups formed by IdeaSpace, J. P. Morgan, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and DTI – in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), and Slingshot.

QBO president Butch Meily said the project is more than just a competition.

 “We are proud of what we have seen so far. The participants have great ideas that we can definitely use to solve some of today’s global threats,” he said.

He expressed hope that the project would continue to be a platform where startup companies could deliver meaningful impact to relevant communities.

Titon Mitra, UNDP Philippines country director said climate and disaster risks are real threats to people and development.

 “We have seen this repeatedly in the last decade not just in the Philippines, but also across ASEAN. Risk and climate-informed development planning is now taking center stage and rightly so. With this competition, we hope to see ideas that can be explored and developed into solutions that will reduce risks and increase resilience of communities,” Mitra said.

Proponents recognize that the ASEAN region is home to some of the world’s most disaster-prone countries not just in terms of natural calamities but also long-running conflicts.

Thus, the project aims to promote awareness on the different crises faced by ASEAN countries such as Super Typhoon Haiyan that ravaged Eastern Visayas particularly Tacloban, and even Vietnam, or the current armed conflict happening in Marawi.

The final 20 startups were selected from more than 100 innovation solutions submitted by companies across ASEAN during a recent run-up call for proposals.

The startups were selected based on the creativity, scalability, and feasibility of their ideas.